Closure for receptacles.



No 783,603. PATENTED FEB. 28, 1905. W, BUHLES.

GLOSURE FOR REGEPTAGLES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 4, 1904.

lhl'o.. 783.608.

Patented February 2n, lQ.

` latini* rinitis.

lfVILLlAM C. BUl-ILFS, OF SAN FRANCISCU, CALlFOltNlrli, Alfiiilli-INOR TO JULl US A. LANDSBERGER, OF ALAhflltl'/l, (TAl'JlIiWIItNlA.

SPECIFCATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 783,608, dated February 9.8, 1905.

Application tiled April 4, 1904` Serial No. 201,571.

To (/,ZZ wiz/071?, t ln/ty con/corna' Be it known that l, VVILLiAMU. Bourges, a citizen of the United States, residing' at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of Ualifornia, have invented certain new and useful lnniirovements in Closures for Receptacles, of which the following is a speciliu cation.

My invention relates to closures for receptacles, and more iiiarticnlarly to the class in which the cover is held in'place by atmospheric pressure without the aid of any me chanical fastening.

The object of my invention is to make a tight and secure closure without the aid of any mechanical fastening device by causing the sealing-gasket to perform the double function of forming an air-tight packing for the joint between the receptacle and its cover and also a complete or auxiliary means for holding the said cover in place. It is especially, although not exclusively, adapted to receptacles having small mouths, where the area of the cover may not be sutlicient to make an ati'nospheric-pressure seal reliable. Vllhen using a small cap or cover, the pressure of the atmosphere on the limited area may not be sufficient to hold it securely in place.

An embodiment of my invention is shown in the accompanying d 'a\vings, which represent the application of my invention to a glass receptacle, such as a bottle or jar, and to a sheet-metal cover for the same.

Figure l is a vertical section of the upper part of such receptacle and its cover with an intermediate composition or gasket clamped in position previous to the application of heat. Fig. 2 is asimilar view with the closure completed after the application of heat and pressure. Fig. 3 is a section of one of the covers associated with a gasket. Fig. i is an elevation of the receptacle without cover or gasket. Fig. 5 is a vertical section showingI a modification. Fig. 6 is a section showing' another mod ilication.

The neck of a bottle or jar is shown at l, which neck is in this case provided with a circular rib or flange 2, whose upper surface forms a seat 3 for the packing el. This packl ing preferably a gasket or ring` and in any event is made of some material or composition which softens with heat, hardens in coeling, adhesive to metal when soft, and remains in adhesion when hard. Composition packings ot this general character are well known in the art, and a suitable one is described in the patent ot' lil. (ioltstein, No. GGLQQS, granted January l, i901. Above the seat for the packing rises the rim 5 of the rcceptacle. Adjacent to the seat 3 the neck of the receptacle is formed so as to make a surface capable of being positively engaged by the packing. l have shown two forms of the neck at this point as illustrative of many which might be used. ln Figs. l., 2., and i a circumferential groove (i is formed in the neck immediately adjacent to the seat 3. ln Fig. 5 the neck has a plurality of grooves at the same point, forming alternating grooves` and ribs. ln Fig. G instead of a groove is shown an inward Allare or undercut. ln other forms and for the same purpose the neck may be ribbed, roughened, serrated, or corrugated.

rlhe cover 7 is of such shape as to lit and close the receptacle. ln the present case it has a sunken panel surrounded by a raised bead, a flat seat 8, and a rim or tlange il. The seat 8 overlies the seat l, and the rim 9 surrounds the rib .2, as shown. The packing yis intermediate between the two seats and, as before explained, is usually a composition gasket, and it is desirable to confine the gasket as much as possible.Y excepting where it is desired that it shall expand. Allefore the cover is applied this gasket can be associated -with either the cover or the receptacle. flt can be laid upon the seat El of the receptacle, or it can, as shown in Fig. 3, have been previously applied to the cover so as to form a part of the same. The latter way is preferable, as it facilitates handling and simplifies the scaling. ln either case the cover is applied to the receptacle in the presence of heat, which softens the gasket. Then as the cover is pressed into place the softened composition is forced into the groovcd, ribbed, corrugated, or otherwise specially-formed surface :uljaeent to the seat 3, forming a locking engagement with the jar at the same time that it is caused to ad- I ed, means being provided for heating said here strongly to the preferably metallic cover. The gasket thus performs not only its natural function of making an air-tight joint, but also the special function of locking the cover 1n place by its adhesion to the cover and by its engagement with the specially-formed adjacent surface of the receptacle. Then covers are held by external atmospheric pressure due to a vacuum or rarefaction in the receptacle, the locking elfect described is of course additional to such atmospheric pressure; but in other cases the gasket can be used as the sole locking device.

In describing the operation of sealing it will be assumed for the sake of simplicity that the gasket is already inserted in the cover, as shownin Fig. 3, which is the preferred arrangement.

The sealing can be done in several ways. If it is desired to process and sterilize the product while in the receptacle, the cover is set in place and secured with a spring-clamp ll, as shown in Fig. 1. The receptacle is then immersed in water or placed in a steam-retort and processed in the usual way. As the composition gasket softens with heat the pressure of the clamp forces it to spread and till the groove 6 or other equivalent speciallyformed adjacent surface and to take the position or form shown in Fig. 2. lV ith coolingl the gasket hardens sufficiently to form a secure locking engagement with the groove, making' a tight secure joint. Substantially the same result can be obtained by pouring the contents into the receptacle boiling hot and then clamping the cover in place, the

heat being sulicient to soften the gasket and permit the clamp to compress it. For some purposes this method is preferable. If it be desired to pack the product cold, the cover is heated at the same time that it is pressed into place by any simple means.

ln packing goods in a vacuum my closure can be used in conjunction with the usual atmospheric-pressure seal by using a vacuummachine in which a pressure-head is arranged in the receiver in which the jars are exhaustpressure-head. After the creation of a vacuum within the reciver the heated pressurehead is brought to bear on the cover so as to soften the gasket and at the same time press and hold the cover in place prior to and during the readmission of air to the receiver.

The gasket which I employ is made of a composition which, while of a solid nature when cold, is suiiliciently yielding so that the cover can be easily pried olf after being punctured to destroy the vacuum by any suitable instrument. If a non-yielding cement were used, it would be difficult to remove the cover without injury to the receptacle. Of course the flange 9 of the cover, as well as the receptacle, can be grooved or otherwise specially formed, so as to enable the gasket when compressed to expand into and engage with the cover in the same manner that it does with the receptacle. This, however, is superfluous when the cover is made of a material to which the gasket is strongly adhesive and is only desirable in case the cover is formed of such a material as glass, to which the adhesion of the composition is comparatively slight.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A receptacle formed with a packing-seat, and having a peripheral groove adjacent to said seat, a cover having a packing-seat, and a composition gasket compressed between said seats and into said groove.

2. The combination with a receptacle, a cover for the saine, and an intermediate composition packing having' the described characteristics, space being provided adjacent to the packing whereby said packing when softened and exposed to pressure can expand into such space, but is otherwise coniined.

1n testimony whereofl l have aflixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 26th day of March, 1904.

NVILLIAM C. BUHLES. lVitnesses:

L. lV. SEELY, A. XV. MILLER. 

